The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chongzhen eight years, September [-]th.

Gao Yingxiang led troops to besiege Jingyang and Sanyuan for one month.

The siege has lasted for more than a month. Although they climbed the walls of the two cities many times, they were all driven out of the city without exception.

Unlike the embarrassment in history, the Ming army gradually regained the initiative in the later stages of the battle. .

On September [-], Cao Wenzhao attacked the camp of the bandits at night, broke through seven battalions in a row, and beheaded King Wabei.

After that, Zuo Liangyu, Cao Bianjiao and other generals also gained victories in field battles.

Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong suffered setbacks one after another, the morale of the army fluctuated, morale fell, and the offensive was no longer what it used to be.

There are bones all over the ground outside Jingyang City. At the beginning, some people collected the bones of soldiers who died in battle.

But when the war gradually heated up, the bones of those hungry soldiers and troops who died in the city were no longer restrained.

The Ming army couldn't spare a shot and didn't have enough energy.

The rogues didn't want to take the risk of being shot to get back their own corpses, because it was meaningless.

At this time, in addition to the unpleasant rancid smell permeating the inner and outer walls of Jingyang City, there is also the lingering bloody smell.

In the past month or so, at least ten thousand people died under Jingyang city.

When the corpses piled up the most, the rogues could even climb the hill of corpses directly to the city wall of Jingyang City.

How can this bloody smell dissipate?

The sky is red like blood, and the blood-red sunset reflects the blood-stained earth. The whole world is covered with blood, which is terrifying and terrifying.

On the Jingyang City Tower, Hong Chengchou is wearing a red tasseled iron helmet with a pointed top, a sleeveless waist armor with fish scales on the outside, a python robe on the inside, and a brocade war skirt underneath, standing behind the parapet with a sword.

The crimson rays shone on Hong Chengchou's body, making people feel extremely uncomfortable at first glance, but Hong Chengchou himself was unaware of it.

Behind Hong Chengchou, Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao, He Renlong, Sun Shoufa, Gao Jie and others all stood silently.

The rogues outside the city seemed to be retreating, and the offensive was getting weaker and weaker day by day. This battle will be settled in October without any accidents.

Except for Gao Jie, everyone's expressions were very indifferent, as if victory was what should be done.

Gao Jie stood at the end of the group of generals, he couldn't remain calm like the others.

In the past month, Gao Jie has seen more things than he has seen in his 20 years of life.

When he was originally on the side of the rogues, he only felt that the Ming army was very strong.

But exactly how strong it is is unknown.

Now that I am really in the camp of the Ming army, I understand a lot of things.

The Ming army is divided into ranks, not all Ming troops are very strong, this is common sense, Gao Jie knew it when he was a rogue.

Now that Gao Jie has entered the camp of the Ming army, he also knows a little bit more about the inside story.

The guards in the Ming army are the weakest and the lowest, and they are generally used as auxiliary soldiers and civilian husbands.

The strength of the battalions in the nine border towns is uneven, and the distribution of armaments is also uneven.

The army towns and battalions in Yansui, Yulin, and Guyuan in the northwest and other places can only be regarded as medium-level, with average armaments.

The battalions in Liaodong, Changping, Jizhou, Xuanfu and other towns were of the first class, with the most adequate food and salaries, and the best weapons, almost all of them wore armor.

The Ming army marched and fought with rules and regulations, and they also cooperated with each other.
On the other hand, the rogues outside the city had only the most basic order, and when they started fighting, they completely messed up.

Although he played for a month, he has made some progress after all, and obviously has a lot of tricks, but this progress is far from catching up with the Ming army.

Gao Jie glanced to the north subconsciously.

Gao Jie didn't know much about the north, but he also heard about the defeat of the Ming army in the northern battlefield. He knew that the Ming army had an opponent in the north who called himself Jin.

Mongolia, which has fought against the Ming army for hundreds of years, has been defeated. Now the entire northern land has belonged to Jin, and Mongolia has become a subsidiary of Jin.

The Jin soldiers entered the pass several times, and even Cao Wenzhao, whom they feared, suffered a lot in Shanxi and was demoted to the army.

Those majestic Liaozhen soldiers always lost more than they won against Jin soldiers.

Gao Jie felt cold in his heart, there are natural disasters and man-made disasters inside the imperial court today, and there are ferocious beasts staring at it outside, it is in the midst of wind and rain.

Gao Jie didn't read any books, but he instinctively felt something was wrong.

Countless thoughts lingered in Gao Jie's mind. Gao Jie recalled the things Xing had analyzed for him, and slowly sorted them out.

The golden sound of withdrawing troops resounded outside the city again, and the army of rogue bandits receded towards the south as quickly as the tide of the sea.

Gao Jie narrowed his eyes slightly, and unconsciously glanced towards the east.

To the east is the location of Sanyuan, which is now guarded by Zuo Liangyu, Zhang Quanchang and others.

Gao Jie suddenly remembered something. Zuo Liangyu recruited more than 2000 soldiers to surrender when he was in Chunhua.

It was a deal between Zuo Liangyu and Chen Wang. Chen Wang not only distributed 3000 soldiers to Zuo Liangyu, but also recruited nearly [-] soldiers himself, and sent him [-] soldiers.

It was these two thousand soldiers and horses that made him directly promoted to the battalion officer.

One must know that last year, He Renlong only promised him a thousand dollars.

It is said that Zuo Liangyu still has nearly 3000 people in Wu Village and Wawu, which means that Zuo Liangyu has nearly [-] soldiers under his command including the soldiers and horses of the battalion.

Gao Jie's eyes drifted away from the generals in front of him, and he suddenly remembered something.

At a party at the beginning of the month, a member of the military academy drank too much and talked about an old story about Zuo Liangyu.

When he was in Huaiqing Mansion, Henan Province, Zuo Liangyu had a dispute with the local governor, and even left the court.

Afterwards, the governor sent documents to recruit his army, but Zuo Liangyu didn't apply on time. The matter once got involved in the court, but it was suppressed in the end.

Gao Jie's eyes flickered, and he felt that he had vaguely grasped an extremely important point, and there was only a thin layer of window paper between him and the truth.

But it is this layer of window paper that cannot be pierced, and the truth cannot be seen.

At this moment, Hong Chengchou's deep voice came from the front.

"How is the situation in Gongchang Mansion now?"

Hong Chengchou had already turned around at this time, and asked in a deep voice.

Gao Jie hurriedly stood still, his expression became solemn again, he held his breath and dared not speak out.

The guerrilla Sun Shoufa who was standing in front of him took a step forward and walked out of the queue, bowing his head to report.

"Gongchang Mansion sent a letter to Qinzhou, a bandit chieftain led by a tiger Li Guo had passed through Qinzhou, and the guerrilla Chen Wang led his troops to pursue him."

"Chen Wang chased the bandits, and fought in the city of Qinzhou. The bandits' troops were wiped out, and a tiger and Li Guo led the elite cavalry army and retreated to the south."

Sun Shoufa had already sorted out all the news delivered, and now when Hong Chengchou asked about it, he immediately responded.

"Chen Wang reported that in the battle of Qinzhou, it was strange to behead 320 and seven ranks of the enemy and capture 2000 enemy infantry. Li Guo led the horse army and fine cavalry to escape."

"However, the men under his command were exhausted and the losses were serious. The magistrate of Qinzhou refused to pay the military rations on the grounds that the three-day deadline had not yet been reached. Now the military rations are about to be cut off, so they can only temporarily garrison south of Qinzhou..."

Hong Chengchou frowned, his expression darkened.

All the generals and schools above the city tower were terrified, everyone knew that Hong Chengchou was actually angry, but he didn't show it.

It is commonplace for local states and counties to shirk their refusal to provide military rations to guest troops for various reasons.

They all heard about the military news that Chen Wang pursued Li Guo all the way from Chunhua in Xi'an Prefecture via Pingliang Prefecture to Gongchang Prefecture. During the hundreds of thousands of miles, only a few prefectures and counties gave food and grass, and the rest searched for various kinds of food. Reasons to shirk.

However, the prefectures and counties of Pingliang Prefecture could find suitable excuses for their excuses. After all, the southern area of ​​Pingliang Prefecture that Chen Wang passed through was the most severely affected by disasters and famines.

A large number of places have been plundered by bandits, and there is nothing to blame even if the army is not given rations.

The reason why Hong Chengchou allocated more military rations and military funds at the beginning was because of the situation in Qingyang and Pingliang.

However, most places in Gongchang Mansion have not been affected by disasters or disasters this year. The military disasters and bandits only occurred in Zhangjiachuan, Qingshui and other places, and did not affect Qinzhou and other places.

Hong Chengchou also had an account book in mind for the military rations over Chen Wang's side, and those military rations would be exhausted to support him for a month or so at most.

Sun Shoufa saw that Hong Chengchou's complexion changed obviously, and stopped talking.

Hong Chengchou's eyes moved slightly, and he said in a deep voice

"go on."

Sun Shoufa didn't dare to disobey the order, so he lowered his head again and reported.

"In early September, Li Yangchun, the Four Heavenly Kings who fled from Fengxiang Mansion to plunder Gongchang Mansion, and the two Climbing Kings are now in Sizhong Mountain in the south of Qinzhou."

"Chen Wang sent a report from the scouts, and Li Guo seems to want to join up with the two of them."

"Once reunited, the strength of the rogues will expand to 3, and the army under his command alone may not be enough to cope with this new situation..."

Hong Chengchou raised his hand to stop what Sun Shoufa wanted to say later.

The Four Heavenly Kings Li Yangchun and Climbing Heavenly King ran from Fengxiang Mansion to Gongchang Mansion in early September.

There are still two or three bandits raging in Fengxiang Mansion, and Yan'an Mansion is now a mess.

The death of Yu Chongxiao caused the morale of the entire Yansui Town to fluctuate. Since the civil uprising began in the first year of Chongzhen, this was the first time that a general soldier died on the way to the suppression.

Hong Chengchou squinted at the setting sun that was slowly fading down on the west side.

"Pass the order to Chen Wang, no matter how good the training is in normal times, it is useless. If you don't go to the battlefield, you will be a weak army after all the blood."

"The matter in the west has been delayed for too long, and it cannot be delayed any longer."

Hong Chengchou turned his head, facing the generals standing on both sides, and said in a deep voice.

Cao Wenzhao raised his head slightly, and he heard the implication of Hong Chengchou's words.

It was no secret that Chen Wang recruited [-] surrendered soldiers.

When Hong Chengchou mentioned training, he was referring to the surrendered battalion that Chen Wang recruited.

To be honest, most of the generals and schools have done the recruiting of surrendered troops as a driving force.

Although Cao Wenzhao himself did not recruit him as a soldier, he also drove him to serve as an auxiliary soldier and a dead soldier.

Cao Bianjiao also recruited a lot of surrendered troops in the southern counter-rebellion.

Among the generals, Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong recruited the most soldiers.

Sun Shoufa is temporarily under the direct leadership of Hong Chengchou, but in fact he is subordinate to He Renlong.

Sun Shoufa was originally from a bandit, but he was recruited and surrendered after he was captured by He Renlong in the fifth year of Chongzhen.

The more than a thousand cavalry under Sun Shoufa's command are all elite cavalry among the former rogues, and their combat power is quite strong.

Counting Sun Shoufa, He Renlong's descendants numbered about 3000.

Zuo Liangyu has recruited almost 6000 to [-] soldiers.

The average general has more than a thousand soldiers under his command.

As a guerrilla, it is normal for Chen Wang to recruit about a thousand soldiers.

However, after the Battle of Chunhua, Chen Wang recruited [-] soldiers at once, which naturally attracted a lot of attention.

This number is normal for a chief soldier and deputy general, and there is no reason for the general's words.

But for Guerrilla, this amount is a bit too much.

Because the general guerrilla command has about a thousand soldiers, although Chen Wang's guerrilla has given two thousand soldiers, but this is because of the special situation of the current campaign.

Hong Chengchou cast his gaze at the right time, and Cao Wenzhao lowered his head a little again.

Cao Wenzhao knew that Hong Chengchou was signaling to him to beat Chen Wang.

"Human dragon."

Seeing that Cao Wenzhao understood, Hong Chengchou's eyes did not stay on Cao Wenzhao any longer.

"I'm humble."

He Renlong came out as ordered, clasped his fists and promised with a thick voice.

He Renlong himself was extremely burly, and the fish-scale armor that was just right for others looked bulging when worn on him.

"After this battle is over, you will lead the troops and horses of your headquarters, and together with Zhang Quanchang, you will enter Yan'an Mansion to suppress the bandits."

"As ordered."

He Ren replied in a low voice, and then stood back in the queue again.

Hong Chengchou looked slightly relieved, although the battle situation was unfavorable.

But with Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong's two obedient Dinghaishenzhen, the situation can't be changed no matter what.

Hong Chengchou was about to give another order, but the sound of hurried footsteps in his ears made Hong Chengchou stop talking.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a soldier carrying a cavalry has already stepped onto the tower.

"The Sanyuan side urgently reported that a large number of rogues have been mobilized in the south of Sanyuan City, and their troops are moving east."

"The reconnaissance cavalry were all repelled by the rogue elite cavalry. Looking at their banners from afar, I saw the banners of the Eight Great Kings Zhang Xianzhong, Laohuihui Ma Shouying and more than a dozen battalion bandit banners."

"There are about [-] thieves marching eastward. The soldiers under the command of Zuo and Zhang are very exhausted and cannot be pursued. They are urgently ordered to report and ask the army to show them how to proceed."

Hong Chengchou looked slightly condensed.

The bandits' eastward advance again did not exceed his expectations.

Shaanxi has suffered from natural disasters year after year, and the military strength of the rogues has continued to expand, and now it has reached nearly 30.

How can such a large population be fed by looting Shaanxi alone? The rogues will definitely need to move eastward again.

"Don't pay attention to them, wait until the number of besieging troops is reduced to 5, and let them go out of the city to attack with all their strength."

Hong Chengchou looked towards the east.

The east side has been gradually swallowed by darkness at this time.

Lu Xiangsheng has already entered Henan, and Zu Kuan and other generals have also led troops to gather in Henan.

Now there are tens of thousands of soldiers in Henan, and he has also laid down layers of defense in Henan before.

The bandits fled to the east, in the middle of their arms.